If the simple act of, well, breathing, is good enough for the No.1 player in the world, trying to inject the practice of meditation in your golf-training regime should be something worth thinking about for you, too.

Indeed, meditation has become part of what makes Rory McIlroy so good, and he’s a constant practitioner. As we navigate the impact of COVID-19 and enjoy quiet moments of reflection in an otherwise busy and turbulent world, meditation is something simple that could help you with your golf game.

McIlroy’s admiration for meditation hit a fever pitch at the Masters in 2019 when he repeatedly would discuss his “three P’s: perspective, persistence, and poise.”

“I’m not about to go and live with the monks in Nepal, or anything like that,” McIlroy joked, “but I’m making sure that I centre myself and put my head in the right place.”

Although there are as many kinds of meditation as there are beer selections at your local pub – you could focus on numbers or breaths, you could be sitting or walking, or you could be silent or listen to the audio queues from around you – the main thing is to focus on your breath and try to keep that focus.

“There are a couple of different areas of the brain that come into play when we meditate. In terms of athletes, it’s like a bicep curl for your brain,” says Jewelia Orlick, an Ottawa-based meditation teacher.

Although you probably can’t hit it as far as McIlroy you can take these tips to try to become just as focused!

USE A MOBILE APP

“Calm” is the top app for sleep, meditation, and relaxation and it’s even one that McIlroy himself uses. You can use any of Calm’s premium features for free for a week and then there is a small fee associated with continuing to practice. From there you can access a mindfulness exercise every day, hundreds of guided meditations, and music tracks or ‘Sleep Stories’ designed to help you relax and sleep – plus lessons on stretching and gentle exercise. The app’s content is developed in partnership with academic researchers.

“Headspace” is a personal guide to mindfulness meditation and is great for beginners. The app is easy to use and is filled with colour, simple instructions, visuals, and the soothing voice of the app’s founder. In order to learn more about meditation as a whole and what it could do for your life – and how you could apply it to golf – this is a great starting point.

“Unplug” is another app that Orlick is a big proponent of. She also has lots of free guides and programs available on her website for people to utilize as they get started.

BE MINDFUL

“Mindfulness” is a bit of a buzzword these days – but with good reason.

By definition is about being present and noticing what’s happening but it’s not about emptying your mind but instead about focusing on your surroundings – whether that’s breathing or other sounds.

This increased focus can help golfers by helping you to separate thoughts and emotions, improve self-control and stress responses, and helps you enjoy the game more by being fully present.

“Meditation is the best way to calm yourself down in (stressful) situations and not let your mind get out of hand with all the things that could go wrong,” says Orlick. “You could do it in one breath – that’s all it takes. It’s just a tiny break from the action in order to bring yourself back to what’s going on.

“There’s a misconception with meditation that you could ‘lose your edge’ if you practice. Mindfulness is essentially focusing on your breath. It’s an awareness-based practice. Visualization (where you go through your shots beforehand) is slightly different – you’re picturing something happen in your mind.”

As you practice mindful meditation, the end result is a better sense of calm. You can eventually become more resilient in stressful situations and think more clearly.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Although using a mobile app is a great way to start and track how you meditate, Orlick says your first meditation practice can be done in as little as 16 seconds.

“It can be really simple. Just follow your own breath as the air fills you and then leaves your body. You can breathe in and count to four, hold that breath for a count of four, exhale for a count of four and hold the breath for a count of four, and that’s really all it takes,” she explains.

It seems simple enough – pick a point of focus, like your breath, and any time you catch yourself drifting towards thoughts, sounds, or physical sensations bring it back to your breath – but that’s why it’s called a practice.

Just like your swing or your short game, meditating could help with your game this season.

“A lot of times you might read you have to ‘do 30 minutes a day’ and that’s not really realistic when you’re just starting out,” says Orlick. “You have to choose a time that’s doable for you and no matter how long you do it, it’s going to be effective.”